The Andrenjinyi of Maori

About a month ago, I linked a cool resource for a Polynesian-inspired roleplaying game called Mythos of the Maori. I am currently preparing to start a brand new adventure for one of my D&D groups that I have entitled "The Andrenjinyi of Maori," which utilizes the themes and concepts from that setting and combines them with the concept of a powerful celestial known as the andrenjinyi, a monster found in Kobold Press' Tome of Beasts.

Today, I want to share with you the background and one of the hooks for this adventure.

Aeons ago, as creation still lay in its primordial shape, the first and greatest of the world’s spirits known as the Rainbow Serpent shed its scales. These scales fell to the earth, each spawning a gigantic, black-headed snake sheathed in scales of every color. The Rainbow Serpent then departed for the stars, leaving its children as powerful guardians of land and sky, sun and rain, birth and destruction. These ancient serpents were known as the andrenjinyi, and from their sacred pools they ruled ageless and immortal, demanding sacrifice and rituals but offering protection for all those who submitted to their code of law. With their link to the primordial stuff of creation, the andrenjinyi held the power to shape creation to their will, often creating a fantastic menagerie of creatures to guard and serve them.

Yet, for all their power and immortality, the andrenjinyi have all but vanished from the world, and the knowledge of the Rainbow Serpent with them. Today, only one of these primordial spirits still exists, ruling over a tropical isle known as Maori. For centuries, the Maori people have dwelt in communion with this being, offering it sacrifice and ritual and binding their community to follow the ancient codes and laws that it dictates. Foreigners are forbidden from setting foot on Maori, save for a small district within their chief city of Kahului, where merchants gladly trade desirable wares for items that can be found nowhere else: exotic fruits and plants as well as unique items ensorcelled with the primordial magic of the andrenjinyi.

Our heroes receive a vision about this ancient celestial and learn that its power is being corrupted by unknown agents of darkness. This vision further warns that should this celestial fall to this corruption, it could have devastating implications for the realms. The characters are tasked with learning the location of the island of Maori, discovering the source of the corruption, and putting an end to it.

 I can't wait to unveil this great setting for my players and share in their journey to unravel the mystery and decide the fate of the andrenjinyi.

Mythos of the Maori

First off, I'm just going to concede that at least for the rest of the holiday season (including next week), my blog posts are going to be somewhat sporadic. I will do my best to post twice a week, but my schedule is all out of sorts, and my time in front of computer is somewhat limited. Enough said.

Currently, I am in the midst of writing a homebrew adventure for the Dungeons & Dragons campaign I am running. For this adventure, the players will be journeying to an isolated tropical island where they must unravel a mysterious threat against an ancient power that protects and rules over the islanders. I have been researching precolonial Hawaii specifically and Polynesian culture in general as inspiration for this adventure.

In the process of searching online for resources, I came across a very cool 'rules-light' roleplaying game system called Mythos of the Maori that is currently available for free from Mythopoetic Games. It started out as a non-fiction text on the mythology and folklore of the Polynesian people prior to their contact with Europe based on the author's childhood and early adulthood spent in New Zealand. Eventually though he deemed it unpublishable, but returned to it later and used it for the basis of a unique roleplaying game. The rules document itself is quite interesting, as most chapters the author intentionally blurs the distinctions between the rules and the setting, making it necessary for the reader to work through the entire book before having a good understanding of the system and how it all connects together. While he admits that this is both ludicrous and unfair to his readers, it is by design to deeply engage a potential GM in the setting.

For my adventure, I will certainly be referencing the third chapter extensively as a helpful resource for the language, cultural beliefs, folklore, and religious practices of the islands' inhabitants. As the characters will also need to eventually gain status among the islanders, the rules in the fourth and fifth chapters will also be quite helpful.

Anyway, this is a great resource if you're at all interested in ancient Polynesian culture. Hope you enjoy it.